An estimated 96,000 males have been conscripted into the military in a total of 20 intakes since the military conscription law was enforced on Feb. 10, 2024, according to DVB data and the Myanmar Defense & Security Institute (MDSI), which is an independent research group formed last year by military defectors.
“The military is mobilising all available human resources to retain power,” Kaung Thu Win, a military defector now working for People’s Goal, told DVB.
People’s Goal, formerly known as People’s Soldiers, is an organization founded by Myanmar military defectors, who now assist soldiers and police officers to leave their jobs and join the resistance to military rule.
At least 27 military training schools are operating nationwide, recruiting approximately 4,800 people per intake on average, according to the MDSI. “They continuously arrest and recruit people for military service,” Naung Yoe, the MDSI research officer, told DVB.
The conscription law stipulates that males aged 18-35 and females aged 18-27 are subject to military service for at least two years. Additionally, professionals such as doctors and engineers are required to serve until the age of 45 for men and 35 for women.
MDSI added that the initial military training period for new conscripts was first set at 12 weeks, but was later extended to 13 weeks, and then to 15 weeks. The regime in Naypyidaw issued stricter regulations for conscripts in January 2025.
Officially known as the “People’s Military Service Law,” it was enacted on Nov. 4, 2010 under former dictator Than Shwe. He announced that “Every citizen has a duty to safeguard the Three Main National Causes: non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity, and the perpetuation of sovereignty.”
The regime added that the estimated 96,000 males who have completed military training are now serving in various military units nationwide, fulfilling what it described as “their responsibilities for national defence and security.”
The regime in Naypyidaw has not disclosed the total number of males conscripted under the law over the last two years.
